


Morning Glory

by IrisClou



Series: Quiet Desperation [5]
Category: Rockman | Mega Man Classic
Genre: BABY COWS AND GAY ROBOTS WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-20 18:47:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10668633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IrisClou/pseuds/IrisClou
Summary: The long awaited birth of Madame BigTits' calf has finally arrived!Blues, Bass, and Shadowman all come together to help their bovine friend out in her greatest time of need.





	Morning Glory

**Author's Note:**

> god only knows how much i tried to channel my inner james herriot writing this  
> [please read "Quiet Desperation" before this for more context if you havent already!]

[ **[Rising Dawn | Audio Machine]** ](https://youtu.be/ug0IJYgfvKA)

 

Bass and Blues lay beside each other on a straw bed in the barn loft, the sun of late spring beating down on them through the rafters.

"I think we learned a very important lesson today." Blues sneered, hands folded serenely over his chest.

"Eat shit." Bass curled back his lips in an ugly snarl, weakly kicking at him with his foot.

"Now we know," Blues continued smarmily, "that just because the weird dog thinks it can catch fish in its mouth, doesn't mean we have to too." Blues couldn't help a rumble of laughter from escaping his rusty throat.

Said weird dog had proudly carried all the fish he had caught in his mouth around, and decided to take them on patrol with him that afternoon.

"I said, EAT SHIT." Bass's face continued to bunch up in a pudgy scowl. "What if the world was ending and we HAD to catch fish for everyone or something?"

"We would use nets, like respectable animals, you idiot." He couldn't hold back his giggles any longer, and rolled to face his friend. "You made a stupid ass mistake. Just accept that you're a freak and move on." He rubbed an oily tear from his eye as he continued to laugh, "God knows that what I did."

"Yeah, but," Bass made a face, and folded his burly arms, "You're not a bad freak or somethin.'"

"And neither are you." Blues quieted, and shifted again, pushing his bare toes through the sun warmed straw. "Next time we go swimming in the lake, we should bring your boyfriend. And my baby sister."

Bass grunted indignantly, but his scowl softened into a pout. "Fine."

Blues furrowed his brow, and gave his friend a look.

"You don't want them to?"

"Nah," Bass's frown melted into a smile, "I do. Sometimes it's just more fun being alone with you." His eyes were bright, but an oddly gentle light shone in them.

"Oh, for fuck's actual sake." Blues ran a weary hand through his wild mess of hair, "Don't start this, do not actually start this, dude."

Bass squinted for a minute before jerking upright and puffing up, "WHAT? No, fuck, man! I don't LIKE like you or anything!" The boy looked disgusted and alarmed at the very notion.

"Incredible." Blues coughed, "You had me worried there for a sec, kid." His smile gave way to more rusty laughter.

"You're...just kinda like...another brother to me. But more special." His voice was suddenly soft now. "And I like being with you."

Something stirred in Blues' chest. Frustrated, he pushed the feeling away.

"No dude. I'm already a shit brother to two kids. I don't need to add another to the roster."

A pause, good-natured.

"I'm just the jackass that pays the bills and makes sure you take your gummy vitamins." Blues cuffed Bass's shoulder affectionately.

"But, we don't have any bills, we live in an abandoned b-"

"Madame collects rent every month." The teenager huffed quite matter-of-factly.

"Uh-huh." Bass side-eyed the boy, before his expression darkened. Getting to his knees, he shuffled over to the edge of the loft, and leaned down to look at the stalls.

"She's really, really big, isn't she?"

"She's a fuckin' cow, shitlord." Blues went to crack his joints out of habit.

"Yeah, but like. Super big." The boy narrowed his eyes, watching as the cow's enormous sides moved with each breath. "She doesn't look so good."

"Excuse me." Blues dug a toe into Bass's backside, "Do not slander my wife's girth in my house."

"Dude! I mean it. Like...look at her. She doesn't look happy." Bass snapped back, irritated that Blues seemed to be ignoring something.

With a moody scowl, the boy hauled himself up to look over the edge of the loft as well.

"Well, she's fuckin' pregnant, asshat. If you had fifty pounds of baby cow in you, you wouldn't be happy either." Blues tried to brush away a creeping sense of dread. Madame really did look uncomfortable as she chewed her cud. She kept pawing the floorboards with her hind leg, like something was bothering her.

"How pregnant? It's been a while since we moved in." Bass crouched down lower to get a better look.

"Extremely." Blues said softly. "I'm gonna..." He held his breath for a moment. "I'm gonna go look and see."

Bass blinked. "What do you mean? Can you tell when she's gonna have the baby? How's it come out of her stomach? Is there like a zipper or something?"

A pregnant pause. Blues slowly, slowly turned to face the boy. He stared at him silently for a few seconds.

"I could say something clever, but I get the feeling that no matter what I say, I cannot cure something as terminal as your fucking stupidity."

Then, muttering, as he climbed down the ladder to the lower level,  _ "Incredible, just fucking incredible." _

Bass watched wordlessly as Blues made his way to the fat little jersey cow, crooning and stroking her soft velvet nose before moving around to her rear.

"Does she have to be milked again?" Bass called down, his voice wavering with worry. Blues was still scowling. Was something wrong?

"No, hang on, lemme just..." The boy patted the cow's hips reassuringly before grabbing the base of her tail and pulling it up to check her. His free hand quickly swiveled around and retracted, forming a flashlight. He clicked it on.

"Sweet mother." He mumbled.

"BLUES, PUT HER TAIL DOWN!" Bass shrieked in alarm, eyes wide, "IT'S NOT RIGHT TO LOOK AT HER PRIVATE PARTS!"

Madame, startled by the sudden outburst, let out an upset moo.

"Will you shut your fuckin' trap? She looks different back here. Like, different than last week." Blues squatted down to look at her udders.

"YEAH, BUT--"

"BASS, I AM EXAMINING MY WIFE, BE QUIET."

Bass watched silently for a few moments as Blues poked about, still with a frown on his face.

"She okay?" The boy whispered, eyes following Blues' hands as they ran along the underside of the cow, feeling how taut her belly had become.

"She's okay. But I think the baby's fallen into position. She could deliver in the next few days." He was somber sounding. He rest his hand on Madame's shoulder and sighed.

"I made sure to read up on calving, and she seems a good size for it all. I'm worried about milk fever because of her breed, but..." He heaved another sigh. "That'll require like, an actual vet. So fingers crossed, kiddo."

Bass had no idea what any of that meant, but he knew fevers meant sickness, and he didn't want Madame to be sick.

"Anyway, we can't just tell her to go into labor, so we gotta wait. Let's get some sleep in the meantime." Blues mumbled more or less to himself as he climbed back up the ladder and plopped down beside Bass.

"Blues?" The boy was very quiet now.

"Mm?" He stared blindly down at his own feet, mind clouded with worry. Thankfully Shadow was supposed to come by tonight. He'd need the company at this rate. Who'd have figured he'd get so emotionally attached to a little ol' jersey cow?

"I think she'll be okay too. And I'll help...with it, if you need me to." Bass wanted badly to put his hand on Blues', but his own heart shied away. He settled for moving a bit closer.

It took a while for the older boy to respond, but when he did, a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Thanks, kiddo. That means a lot."

A brief silence before a yawn of, "ALRIGHT!" As Blues stretched himself all the way out, and flopped back into the straw. "Let's sleep. I need my afternoon nap."

Bass grinned, looking down at him, "Yeah, because your BOYFRIEND is coming to visit."

"Eat shit, mother fucker." Blues grinned back, and curled on his side, unable to stop himself from smiling.

"Well, next week, I'm gonna have Rock stay with me, and we'll share the same straw bed, and--" The boy puffed himself up with pride, before Blues gave him a look of utter disdain.

"You are not gonna sleep in a straw pile with my baby brother. I'll find some goddamn comforters or something, you heathen."

With a sun-drunk smile on each boy's face, they quickly slipped into a deep sleep, Bass cuddled up close to a sprawled and drooling Blues.

 

[[Prologue & Birth | Audiomachine]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-OE-PaWMLA&feature=youtu.be)

 

Night drew swiftly in, and the fluffy white clouds that hinted summer's return faded to black, becoming nothing but wisps surrounding the full moon.

Shadowman had arrived.

Silently, he perched on a branch of the massive sakura that overshadowed the barn. How something got this large, he'd never know.

The man never truly had a place for rustic venues in his heart, but here, in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but an abandoned barn and a sakura tree...there was something here he felt must be preserved.

With hushed footsteps he made his way to the slat in the roof, peeling it back as quietly as he could. The moonlight streamed in, illuminating and framing his face as he looked down into the loft.

Shadow's heart leapt at the sight, but he forced himself to let nothing but a soft smile grace his lips. Blues was protectively clutching Bass to him, one leg thrown over the boy's, nose buried in the fluffy purple hair.

His shades were nowhere to be found.

The teenager stirred at the bright light that flooded in, and clung tighter to Bass for a few more moments before blinking awake.

"Darling," Shadow murmured tenderly, watching with a growing light in his eyes as Blues finally took a shuddering breath and pulled away from the boy in his arms.

"Don't 'darling' me, you haiku-assed fuck." He grumbled, sleepily sitting up, "I thought we agreed on no gay pet names."

"I didn't call you my little cherry blossom." Shadow's laughter was nothing more than a rustling of petals in the breeze. He extended his arm down for Blues to grab hold of.

"Yeah, well," He tried to argue, but gave up mid sentence. He was too tired anyway.

Rubbing his eyes, Blues looked up and saw the offered hand.

"And I think  _ I'm _ the ridiculous one." He scoffed to himself and backed up, before taking a determined step forward, leaping up to grab the delicate hand in his.

Shadowman's strength still astonished him, and he felt himself being effortless pulled skyward, and out of the barn.

As graceful as the man was, it was all lost as soon as Blues was sprawled on top of him, laughing that awful, ugly laugh of his. The only laugh that made Shadow laugh too. He adored that terrible rusty noise of his.

They lay against each other on that run down barn roof, silent with the night, a new heart created by an old one.

Blues smiled, and pushed his nose into the silky soft skin of Shadow's neck.

"I love you." There was a long lost anger in those words, simply because he never once believed in them until now. Never once believed saying them would cause his entire body to shake and his chest to swell, for that new heart to beat faster, spreading warmth from his wild hair all the way down to his toes.

"I know." Shadow replied smoothly, his own body reacting similarly, only with what felt tenfold the warmth. Maybe there was something else, that he thought was only for humans, that they could do too. His slender fingers traced Blues worn features, all the way down to his hips, where they rested comfortably. "Because I love you, too." He gazed adoringly into Blues' eyes.

Eyes that once knew nothing but a bitter darkness, eyes that now shone with a new light.

He was so in love with those eyes.

"Gay. You're so fuckin' gay, dude." Blues managed between giddy giggles, dipping his head to kiss his friend.

Shadow felt it as soon as it happened--the surge of power from Blues' nuclear core, flooding his own. Such a simple touch, and yet--he felt his knees bunch up instinctively, press together above the boy's thighs. His breathing was almost labored now as they kissed, slim fingers running through Blues' wild hair, tangling themselves in the auburn locks.

This is why some humans devoted their life to poetry. He just knew it.

Neither one wanted the feeling to end, but the light emanating from Blues' core had become so bright, it was nearly blinding. Bass had begun to stir and grumble in his sleep.

"Damn," The teenager panted, still caught between laughing and just trying to breathe, "Damn!" He let the warmth slowly fade from him until his body was relaxed against Shadow's.

Shadow, however, was still looking up at him, cherry blossom blush staining his cheeks, chest heaving. This is what poetry was all about. His delicate hands shook as he cupped Blues' strong jaw in his palms.

"Darling, I want more of you." He whispered, the warmth in him burning in the strangest of places.

Blues stared down at him dumbly for a minute, before--

"I am not, not on a ROOF, a BARN ROOF," his eyes were wide, wide and a wild grin was on his face, "We are respectable men, not, not," A giggle bubbled up in his chest and he began to laugh, "Shadow! You ANIMAL!" He continued to laugh, his entire body shaking uncontrollably at the notion, and buried his face in Shadow's neck.

The man heaved a sigh, and relaxed, tenderly kissing the boy's temple.

"You're right." He felt embarrassment creep through him-- _a barn roof...honestly, Shadow...especially with your baby brother right there_ \--he groaned internally.

"Besides, there's something more important." Blues pulled himself up, and sat childishly on Shadow's hips, earning him a disdainful look. The man propped himself up on his elbows.

"More important?"

"Yes. Madame is going to have her baby soon." He puffed up his chest with pride.

"She's going to calve?!" Shadow's eyes grew wide, and he craned his neck to see if he could see the cow through the opened roof slat. To no avail.

"Yeah, pretty soon. I'm kinda excited." Blues grinned, "Bass said he always wanted a baby brother or sister."

Shadow stared up at him.

"You're kidding me."

"Mm-mm." Blues shook his head.

"Incredible." He looked down to see his little brother fast asleep on the straw, drooling. He loved that runt.

"I know, right?" Blues huffed a laugh, before leaning back over Shadow. "We gotta find a better place to be this gross, I don't want him waking up and cryin' about how nasty it is when people kiss."

Shadow's premature blush faded as he laughed too. "Especially when he has someone himself to kiss."

"Dude, now THAT'S gross." Blues snickered, "It's kinda cute how they don't know what the fuck they're doing, but since they're kids, they THINK they do, so they try to like, instruct each other on how it's all supposed to be done--" He snorted, "They're a beautiful mess." The boys face softened along with his husky voice, "And I figured as much. They've got something, something no one else can ever have."

"They're gentle with each other. That's what matters." Shadow smiled up at Blues, reaching out to stroke his worn cheek. "We, on the other hand..." He gave the boy a knowing grin.

"Un-uh, hotshot. Not on a barn roof, not anywhere." Blues let out a doofy laugh, "You'd need to at least buy me dinner first."

"You just made yourself a deal." Shadow smirked, pulling Blues down to him, kissing at his neck and cheeks, making him giggle.

"Fucker!" The boy was too happy to even resist, his very chest beginning to glow, "I said no!"

"No takebacks." Shadow mumbled between kisses, finally finding Blues' lips with his own.

And it started all over again.

Until--

"BLUES!! BLUES! SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH MADAME!" The strained cries of Bass broke the moment, and both boys leapt from each other in a panic.

_ Was it time? _

 

[[Morning Glory | Audiomachine]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4N-8fqGTZw&feature=youtu.be)

 

Bass was inconsolable, crying as Blues and Shadow both rushed to him, Blues immediately going to see Madame.

At night, of all things! Her soft hide was hot to the touch, and she was making all sorts of terrible noises. He felt his heart go out to her--maybe he had been wrong, maybe she WAS too little, hips too slender, maybe--

He stopped himself and inhaled sharply, chest swelling. He dug an angry bare foot into the tattered floorboards.

"She's just started. It'll be a while. We just have to wait, Bass." He turned to see the boy sobbing into his older brother's arms. Shadow looked concerned.

"How long?" He murmured.

"Hours. Maybe even a day or more, if it's bad." Blues stared deeply into the fawn colored cow's dark eyes. She was in pain, and he felt it.

"I'll take care of him. You make sure Madame's okay." Shadow tried his best to quiet his baby brother with reassuring pets.

Blues nodded solemnly, watching as Shadow led Bass out of the barn. But the ugly sobbing could still be heard from the sakura. Bass simply couldn't understand why his friend had to be in pain just to have her baby. Pain was something he had learned to bear, and now the very idea of others having to suffer it--he couldn't stand it.

Blues lowered his eyes. Bass was still just a child. He found himself wishing for something stupid and ridiculous like a zipper on a cow. Just open it up and the baby falls out with some confetti, maybe a little fanfare, and then you just zip it back up...

He shook his head angrily. No, he'd have to just sit and bear this burden with Madame. She was his cow after all. He'd taken care of her for almost a year now. It was his calling.

Sometime past midnight, the crying had quieted, and Shadow had returned with an exhausted Bass in his arms.

"He says he wants to be with her." The man seemed just as drained. He had found himself wishing for an easy, five minute birth, confetti, fanfare--whatever it took to calm his baby brother.

Blues nodded, and scooted over in the straw bed he sat in to make room for Bass.

"She'll be okay, kiddo. She's strong little heifer, I promise." He wrapped a tired arm around the boy's shoulders and pulled him close. Bass merely nodded into his neck, his body still shaking from crying earlier.

"If you need me, I'll be close by." Shadow felt stiff. He knew labor was never easy for any creature, but seeing it like this, in such a docile and gentle animal--it pained him as well.

Blues just made a noise of acknowledgment, not daring take his eyes off of Madame.

Hours passed, and the birds had begun to sing. Both boys had nodded off from pure exhaustion, yet Shadow struggled in the tree above them to stay awake.

With a loud, braying noise, the jersey shuddered, and collapsed to her chest, unable to take the strain of birth any longer.

Blues awoke with a start, scrambling to his feet before even knowing what happened. He staggered in a panic to the downed heifer, and let out a strangled cry.

"SHADOW!"

The boy shakily ran his hands over the damp, quivering fur of the cow, making his way behind her. He screamed for Shadow again. There was blood. It covered and caked his feet as he fell to his knees. He should have called the vet.

In a heartbeat, Shadow was beside a once more bawling Bass.

"Get me hot water and soap, there's a well outside! I think the calf's mislaid and cut her up while she was trying to push it out!"

As Shadow and Bass rushed off, Blues looked around frantically for a thin rope, or strong twine--he'd have to do what he had feared most. Deliver the calf by himself.

Madame let out another strained moo, and shuddered again. Blues' brand new heart nearly broke.

The brothers returned shortly, having found a buster shot was just enough to heat a bucket of water.

Blues soaped up his arm up to the shoulder, and lifted the cow's tail up with one hand, plunging the other into her. He had to see how the calf had been laid--and if it was still even alive.

Bass shrieked at the sight.

"YOU CAN'T PUT YOUR HAND IN THAT!!! IT'S HER PRIVATE PARTS!"

"THERE IS A TIME FOR DIGNITY AND A TIME TO SHOVE YOUR ARM UP A COW, YOU FUCK!"

Blues struggled against the contractions to reach the calf, the twine wrapped securely around his wrist.

With a groan, he found the hind legs first. Pushing his hand in as far as he could, he managed to find the head, then mouth. His eyes rolled back with a sigh of relief as he felt an eager tongue against his fingers. Still alive.

As he kept feeling along, he winced at how badly the calf's head had been pulled back, but he figured as long as he could get the twine wedged by the molars, he could ease it around to the front. The rest would follow as nature intended.

But every single time he thought he had the twine securely around the lower jaw, it would slip past, and once he nearly lost it. If he could, he'd be sweating bullets.

"Is there anything we can do?" Shadow murmured quietly, clutching Bass's hand in his.

"Unless you want to play 'Stick Your Arm Up The Cow,' not much, bud." Blues grunted, fighting with the calf's lower jaw.

"If you need me to--"

"Babe, I appreciate it, but I don't want your delicate self to get too grossed out. This is not poetry in motion here, it's me trying to make sure she doesn't prolapse after it's over."

Shadow furrowed his brow, and nodded silently.

Bass stood beside him, stalwart despite his knees trembling. He had seen the blood caked on Blues' arm.

He started, a cold nose on the bottom of his free hand. Treble had finally returned from patrolling the farm, and was sitting at his feet, watching with concern at the scene.

"She'll be okay, buddy. Blues is gonna take care of her." He mumbled softly, not taking his eyes off of the boy struggling to right the little calf.

"Shit, Shadow, can you get me a lamp? This light's startin' to go out." Blues was running out of energy, and his arm turned flashlight had begun to flicker and dim.

The man was beside him in an instant, having found an old kerosene lantern, and lighting it. He sat gravely beside his friend, holding the light up for him.

Blues managed a grimy smile through the struggle.

"I think I've almost got her. But I'm gettin' tired. And so is Madame." He was almost gasping for air at this point, his head bowed, too exhausted to hold it up. "Hang in there, kids. If this little one is still fighting, then so am I."

Shadow and Bass waited with baited breath. Treble whined softly.

An hour passed, before Blues cried out, his face already tear stricken.

"The head's turning! I'm bringin' her 'round!" And with a renewed strength, he soaped up his other arm best he could, before easing it in to help pull the legs out of the way.

"Shadow! Get ready! " He didn't know what for, but he knew he'd need help, "I can feel her, she's head down now, I got her forelegs, she's almost out--"

There was a great and glorious bellow from Madame, and in a rush of what should have been confetti, but was clearly not--the calf flopped weakly to the straw covered floor, sopping wet and shivering.

Without hesitation, Blues began to scrub it down with straw, and swiped his thumb through its mouth to get the rest of the fluid out. It snorted indignantly and shook its head.

"It's a baby girl." Shadow murmured warmly, watching as Blues gently coaxed the little heifer towards her exhausted mother, who gladly accepted the newborn with a hearty lick.

But that was all Blues had left in him, and soon he could not go any further, collapsing into Shadow's tender arms.

"Don't even THINK about kissing me, you fool." The boy managed meekly, knowing he was covered in God knows what. "Just...watch her...and the baby...tell me...if..." The light faded from him, and he was still. Shadow cradled him tightly, forehead pressed to his temple.

"She's drinking!" Bass squeaked, his voice rusty from disuse, "She's drinking her milk!" A bright grin broke through his once stormy expression. Treble boofed loudly in jubilation.

Shadow chuckled, seeing Blues smile as well. The sun had risen, and was shining through the rafters once more, one particular sunbeam warming the new mother and daughter in the dusty old barn.

Madame was eager to clean her calf, but was met with tiny protesting moos as she tried to nurse while getting a bath.

"Think of a good name, Bass." Blues mumbled, his face buried in Shadow's soft neck. "Make it special."

The boy swelled with pride at the notion of naming his new baby sister, and his eyes shone in the morning light.

"Morning Glory!" He cried, round cheeks rosy. "She was born in the morning, and she's pretty as a flower!"

"Morning..." Blues barely managed a laugh, "...Glory..." He coughed weakly, feeling Shadow's arms tighten securely around him. "And here I thought...you'd name her somethin'...like 'Miss Moo.'"

"Yeah, well, I used to call Rock 'Megaman' all the time. Doesn't change who he is, so we can still call her Miss Moo, too!"

"A rose by any other name..." Shadow said softly, earning a groan from Blues.

"Don't you start, haiku-boy."

"Shakespeare wrote sonnets, not haikus, darling." Shadow purred, kissing Blues' forehead lovingly.

"What! Did I say! About kissing me! And STOP with the 'darling' shit already!" The boy could barely breathe, but each breath he took was filled with that rusty old laugh, so signature to him.

"Eww..." Bass curled a lip at his older brother and Blues exchange. "Go shower or something at least."

"Carry me, Romeo." Blues sighed dramatically, drawing a breezy laugh from Shadow, "Lay me in a pool of rose petals."

"As you wish, Juliet." The man's eyes sparkled warmly, and he pulled himself up to his feet, Blues cradled in his slender but strong arms.

"Take care of my daughter, you fool." Blues called back as Shadow carried him towards the door to find SOME means of getting the both of them cleaned up, "And don't wake her up if she's sleeping, or you'll be on mucking duty for the next month."

Bass, his whole body glowing with its own inner spark, nodded gleefully, setting quietly beside the newborn. He reached out to tenderly pat her head.

"Welcome, Miss Moo! You're gonna have a lot of fun here! We'll go outside and play when you get bigger and can run real fast, okay?" His voice kept cracking in excitement, but he didn't care. Treble moofed reassuringly at the tiny heifer, and she mooed back heartily, before curling beside her mother's chest.

As much as it scared him, Bass knew he had to go make sure Madame was okay on her back end. Quietly, he got to his feet to peer around and check.

It looked terrible, but if Blues said she was gonna be okay, then--

Puffing his chest up with determination, he figured he may as well wash her up a little bit. It was just the right thing to do.

With a few buckets of soapy water, he'd cleaned the rest of the mess out of the stall. He made sure to pat her down with a soft towel before returning to the front end.

Bass gave Madame a quick petting before grabbing a pail of fresh water to give her after she had finished the one beside her. Once he had determined he had done all he could, he flopped down beside her, and leaned against the stall, exhausted.

Miss Moo blew at him, sticking her tongue out. Bass imitated her, before laughing. But it was time for rest. And Treble saw that as well, and curled up to be a makeshift bed for his best friend.

Both boy and dog were fast asleep when Blues and Shadow returned.

They stood silently at the barn door, the sun climbing higher in the sky as morning became day.

"Blues."

"Yeah, I know. You're a ninja. You work at night and turn into a pumpkin at noon." The boy scowled, lowering his eyes. "I wish you didn't turn into a fuckin' pumpkin."

Shadow puffed with laughter.

"I wish that, too." His eyes softened, along with his voice, "But what we do, darling, is best done at night." A smile graced his lips.

"One more 'darling,' and I  _ swear _ ," Blues' face screwed up in a pout to keep himself from crying.

"Swear to me the next time we meet, alright?" Shadow dipped his head down, lips parted, inches from Blues'.

"Y-yeah..." The boy's vision blurred with tears, and hesitated, the new heart in him already aching with loss.

But there was nothing the simplicity of a kiss goodbye couldn't fix, and soon, Blues' found his arms wrapped around Shadow's neck, searching for years of love in one embrace.

"Wait for me."

"I will."

Shadow looked up.

"And take good care of the runt for me. He loves you right to death, you know." He chuckled warmly. "And good luck with the baby. She looks strong. Just don't teach her to be as stubborn and bull-headed as yourself." He teased, and stepped back before Blues could cuff his shoulder.

"Get outta here, haiku-boy." His nose was still ruddy and his cheeks still oily.

"Patience is a virtue, darling." Shadow gave him one last kiss, before retreating, and leaping up into the sakura tree to head home.

"SO IS SHUTTING UP, ASSHOLE!" Blues hollered after him through his choppy laughter, listening as the breeze carried Shadow's own back to his ears, soothing him. The bastard. Blues smiled to himself.

Miss Moo looked up from her nap and let out a pint sized moo, echoing Blues.

"Good girl, Miss Moo. You tell him. You tell him to stop breakin' my heart." The boy chuckled, and settled beside Bass and the cows, lowering his chin to his chest, and finally letting sleep overtake him.

It really had been a morning of glory.

 

**Author's Note:**

> THEY CALLED A VET WHEN THEY WOKE UP TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING WAS OKAY DONT WORRY


End file.
